In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They relieve the pressure on everyone.
Over the next two weeks, we’ll be ranking the 10 most essential players to the Colts’ success in 2023. It’s a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.
To make it simpler, we’re asking the following two questions about these players:
1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?
2. What does the Colts’ 2023 ceiling become if this player hits his?
The elephant in the room for 2023, of course, is the presence of a rookie quarterback. The growth of Anthony Richardson will matter more than the win-loss record, so this year’s list will focus more on future value than it has in other years.
Today, we move on to No. 2, Jonathan Taylor.
Here’s the list so far:
10. JuJu Brents, cornerback
9. Jelani Woods, tight end
8. Bernhard Raimann, left tackle
7. Quenton Nelson, left guard
6. Shaquille Leonard, linebacker
5. Braden Smith, right tackle
4. DeForest Buckner, defensive tackle
3. Michael Pittman Jr., wide receiver
2. Jonathan Taylor, running back
Position: Running back
Age: 24
Experience: 4th NFL season, 4th with Colts
Accolades: 3,841 rushing yards and 33 rushing touchdowns on 5.1 yards per carry across 41 starts in 43 games. 2021 Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro. Led the NFL in 2021 with 1,811 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns
2022 stats: 861 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 4.5 yards per carry across 11 starts in 11 games
Last year’s rank: No. 2
Why he’s here: Debates about the value of running backs fill the Internet so frequently that they can become nauseating. Team context is often the missing ingredient to them, and Jonathan Taylor recently went bold about how important he believes he is to this particular franchise.
We’re in agreement here.
Taylor has shown the highest ceiling of any skill player the Colts have. In 2021, as a second-year player, Taylor ripped off 1,811 yards, or almost 500 more than any other back in football. He also led the NFL with 18 rushing touchdowns, plus just about any metric you can find about ball carrier speeds or explosive runs or down-to-down efficiency. And he did it against a steady stream of eight-man boxes as the Carson Wentz-led passing game was crumbling.
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Last year fell well short of those lofty marks. Taylor missed six games due to an ankle injury, and he finished with 861 rushing yards and just four touchdowns. He averaged a full yard less per carry than in 2021. Taylor showed he was human last year, as he was more indecisive in the backfield and disappeared as a receiver and pass protector.
But the context around last year’s Colts season, from the internal pressure of upcoming changes to a disaster of an offensive line to the high-ankle sprain he played weeks on, can actually make what Taylor did still fairly impressive.
In fairness, it did showcase how much a running back can’t carry an entire offense.
But it’s a new season, and after ankle surgery, there’s reason to believe the best in Taylor can re-emerge in a contract year.
Beyond his explosive ability, he ranks this high because he is exactly what the Colts need in the backfield with this rookie quarterback. Richardson needs to play early and develop as a passer, but odds are it will be a struggle at times after he completed less than 54% of passes at Florida. The Colts can play to Richardson’s running strengths, but too many hits will risk the injuries that hampered him in high school and college, and he can’t develop his passing in the trainer’s room.
That’s where it helps to have Taylor’s dominance on high volume, which he showed with a league-high 332 carries for 5.5 yards per rush in 2021. His ability to turn a 20-yard blocked run into a 70-yard touchdown can be the best friend to a rookie quarterback who doesn’t have a full arsenal yet. The fit within Shane Steichen’s Eagles-style, diverse-run offense is pretty ideal.
Taylor needs to improve on third downs, but better health and fewer concerns in the running game could bring about those changes. If he can, he’ll be a perfect Robin to the player who will top this list.
This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: Colts: Why Jonathan Taylor is No. 2 among the most essential players